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Japan’s youth will finally get a chance to have their voices heard in politics. Revisions to the Public Offices Election Law that would lower the minimum voting age to 18 from 20 are being deliberated in the Diet and are widely expected to be ...

More Japanese firms are appointing outside directors to strengthen their corporate governance, pushed by a revised law and new rules that are set to come into effect in the coming months. Japan has been lagging behind other developed countries in appointing independent directors, partly ...

Jingu Gaien, a historic sports venue in Tokyo, will undergo a major transformation in about a decade, in a move driven by the city’s plan to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. In addition to the plan to rebuild the National Stadium before the ...

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China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is causing a stir as the majority of Group of 20 leading economies sign on as founding members, while the U.S. and Japan remain on the sidelines. This outcome for a Chinese initiative that challenges the U.S.-led global ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration submitted a revised Labor Standards Law to the Diet earlier this month that would allow firms to exempt well-paid skilled workers from work-hour regulations — the so-called white-collar exemption system, which would effectively do away with overtime pay. Those ...

Last month, four utilities announced they would decommission five commercial nuclear reactors that were at least 40 years old, rather than apply for a restart that could extend their operating life another two decades. The news was greeted with a mixture of relief and ...

Japan may not be the best in the world when it comes to speaking English, but it remains a pioneer in developing cutting-edge translation technology. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approaching, the nation is once again plotting to surprise the world, this time with ...

NHK’s announcement earlier this month that it will start trial simultaneous broadcasts of its programming on the Internet signaled a new era in TV broadcasting. Commercial broadcasters, which have yet to offer such services and are thus intimidated by the giant public broadcaster’s move, ...

Dear Alice, I have noticed whenever I pass a police station in Japan, that there is almost always a policeman standing out front holding a pole. Is this some form of punishment? If not, what the heck is the rationale for using manpower in ...

The super-dreadnought that once served as the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy has been found lying in sections in the dark ocean depths of the Philippines, 70 years after the end of World War II. Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced on March ...

As the disaster-hit Tohoku region struggles to recover from the deadly tsunami four years ago, many residents have hopes for what is considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to galvanize the area’s resurrection. Chances are the region may host the International Linear Collider, a state-of-the-art research ...

On March 14, the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line will open as an extension of the Nagano Shinkansen Line, directly connecting Tokyo with Kanazawa and shortening the travel time to the scenic capital of Ishikawa Prefecture to 2½ hours from four. Public excitement is mounting. Tickets ...